It's hard enough to find headphones with decent noise cancellation for under $200, but if you also want wireless, things can get dicey. Phiaton's latest effort in the noise-canceling realm is the BT 330 NC, a $199 pair of Bluetooth headphones that offers both features for a significantly lower price than our current Editors' Choice, the Bose QuietComfort 25. The results are fairly predictable—Phiaton provides a high-quality (but maybe not $200-level) audio experience and merely so-so noise cancellation. The BT 330 NC is trying to do too much, and it feels a bit overpriced as a result.

DesignFrom a design standpoint, Phiaton continues its futuristic, clean style with the BT 330 NC. A matte plastic headband is black up top and metallic where it attaches to the black supra-aural (on-ear) earcups. The headband is adjustable, and it's possible to achieve a precise fit using the clicking stop points as a guide. While the earpads are quite comfortable, the underside of the headband lacks much in the way of plush padding, and long wear time can exert a bit too much pressure on your skull.

Controls for power, volume, playback, track navigation, and call management are located on the right earcup. The rocker switch for the volume is also the control used for track navigation, and holding it will play or pause your tracks. The volume, which works independently of your phone's volume levels, is adjusted by quickly tapping the rocker, while track skipping is achieved by holding it down for a second or so. (You can fast forward by holding it down even longer).

With so many possible functions assigned to one button, it almost goes without saying that it's very easy to accidentally pause playback or adjust volume when you meant to do something entirely different, but there is at least a dedicated phone button. The right earcups also houses the micro USB charging port (a cable is included) and the pinhole microphone. The noise cancellation button is located on the left earcup—we'll talk about its performance in the next section.

In addition to the charging cable, the BT 330 NC ships with a micro-USB-to-3.5mm audio cable for wired listening. Connecting this cable automatically powers down the headphones to save battery life. A drawstring cloth carrying pouch is also included—the headphones fold down at hinges on the headband to fit inside.

Pairing is a quick and simple process, and when powered down and back up again, the BT 330 NC will automatically re-pair with your mobile device. It is also possible to connect to two devices simultaneously, streaming music from one and fielding calls through the other, for instance. Phiaton estimates the BT 330 NC's battery life to be roughly 14 hours (with noise cancellation on) or 30 hours (with noise cancellation off), but these numbers will vary greatly depending on your volume levels, among other factors.

One note: There is no automatic sleep mode or power down function. The BT 330 NC will only power down if you go out of Bluetooth range with your paired device—which is typically 33 feet. In this case, you will get a prompt that you have gone out of range, and if you don't go back into range, the headphones power down after five minutes. As long as you're in range, however, the headphones will stay on and battery power can drain quite quickly, so getting into the habit of shutting them down is essential.

PerformanceFirst, a word about the noise cancellation circuitry. The good news is that it does eliminate a decent amount of ambient room noise, particularly lower rumbles and whirs. The bad news is it also adds an audible hiss to the equation, and although the hiss is pretty subtle, it's a mark of so-so noise cancellation circuitry. If excellent noise cancellation is your priority, these headphones are not the way to go—consider them a solid Bluetooth pair with the added functionality of decent, but not great, noise cancellation.

There's not a wild difference between the audio performance of the BT 330 NC in wireless versus wired mode, but the headphones have a bit less power in wired mode, as they don't use the battery. The audio performance discussed here is with the headphones in wireless mode.

On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the BT 330 NC delivers full-bodied low end. At top, unwise listening levels, on both the headphones and the sound source (in this case, an iPhone 5s), the headphones do not distort. At more moderate levels, the bass response is still quite powerful, but thankfully in both scenarios it is counterbalanced by some solid high-frequency response.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with little deep bass in the mix, sounds crisp, with a pleasant fullness and richness, but the lows aren't boosted to unnatural levels. This means the drums on this track, which can often sound overly thunderous on bass-heavy headphones, sound more or less natural here, while the high-mid and high frequency presence brings out the guitar strumming and gives Callahan's vocals a little added treble edge.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop's attack gets plenty of high-mid presence, which gives it a piercing edge that slices through the mix. The sub-bass synth hits are also packed with plenty of bass depth, but not so much that it upsets the balance of the mix—the vocals still hover cleanly and clearly above the mix's many layers.

From an audio standpoint, the BT 330 NC sounds quite good—but not quite as good as you'd expect a $200 wireless pair of headphones to sound. Obviously, that's where the noise cancellation circuitry adds to the price tag, but the headphones end up seeming a bit overpriced, or overstuffed with features. If you're just after the best noise-canceling headphones possible, the winner is still the Bose QuietComfort 25. If you're more interested in excellent wireless headphones, in this price range we like the Sony MDR-ZX770BT and the Plantronics BackBeat Sense; for less money, consider the Jabra Move Wireless.

Phiaton BT 330 NC

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